With an average machine age of 64 years, the U.S. hydropower fleet requires smart modernization to reduce costs and enhance the overall reliability and value of the nation’s longest-serving renewable energy technology. Hydropower operations are becoming more complex and demanding as hydropower strives to provide grid reliability and resiliency in the face of variable renewable energy production as solar and wind installations continue to expand. As the electric power grid prioritizes reliability, resiliency, and value amidst an evolving mix of variable renewable and baseload assets, hydropower technology will require the integration and full benefit of the best available and future advancements in sensors, data and control systems, analytics, simulation, optimization, and computing capabilities to remain competitive. We refer to this need as the Hydropower Digitalization Challenge. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) propose to launch a Digital Twin for Hydropower Systems (DTHS) open platform framework (OPF) as a key initiating research activity and outcome to address the hydropower digitalization challenge.
